STORM DESCRIPTION
The most intense winter storm since the Blizzard of 1996 burried New
Jersey under 4 to 15 inches of snow, sleet, and freezing rain, and
battered the coast with wind gusts of up to 60 mph, causing moderate
coastal flooding at the time of high tide as well as snow drifts of up
to 4 feet.

Synoptic Discussion
The storm began as a weak low pressure system on a stationary front in
southern Texas on the 23rd. By the morning of the 24th, it was
located in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico near Apalachicola,
Florida. By the evening of the 24th, the storm was rapidly
intensifying and hugging the South Carolina coast. By 7AM EST on
the 25th, it was a 980 millibar low near Cape Hattaras, North
Carolina. While only barely strengthening more, the storm moved
northeastwards along the Atlantic Seaboard. By 7PM EST, it was a
975 millibar low located 80 miles east of Long Beach Island, New
Jersey. It then began to weaken and by 7AM EST on the 26th, it
was a 988 millibar low located just east of Portland, Maine.

Local Discusion
Snow began with a vengeance between 2AM and 7AM on the 25th across the
state. It began in Cape May County and spread north and
northwestwards. Snowfall rates of 2 inches per hour were common
during the first few hours of the storm with the intial band of
precipitation. By 6AM EST, some locations already had 4 inches of
new snow on the ground. After 6AM EST, warm air at mid-levels
began to work northwards over the state, cutting precipitation off from
south to north. This also caused the precipitation to change form
from snow to sleet and freezing rain. Snow continued over
northwestern New Jersey, but its intensity was lighter during the late
morning and afternoon hours than it had been earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, northeastern, central, and southern section remained in the
storm's "dry slot", an area of much lighter or non-existant
precipitation, for most of the daylight hours. After 3PM EST,
cold air began to work back into the state, and precipitation began to
change back to snow. A final heavy burst of snow worked across
the state during the evening of the 25th just before precipitation
ended. Snow ended across the entire state by midnight EST on the
26th. Snowfall accumulations were 6 to 12 inches (with isolated
amounts up to 15 inches) in Sussex, Warren, Morris, Hunterdon, and
Somerset counties in northwestern New Jersey, as well as in Mercer,
Burlington, Ocean, Camden, Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland, Atlantic, and
Cape May counties in southern New Jersey. Northeastern New Jersey
saw less snow, with 4 to 8 inches falling in Passaic, Bergen, Hudson,
Essex, Union, Middlesex, and Monmouth counties. This storm also
brought moderate tidal flooding at the time of high tide at midday on
the 25th, as well as some beach erosion. Tides reached 7.7 feet
above mean low water at Sandy Hook and Atlantic City, while they
reached 8.5 feet in Cape May.

New Jersey Snowfall TotalsIndividual Snowfall Totals from January 25,
2000